Swallowed In The Sea
by OhMyGubex
Summary: Hooked Queen - Regina and Hook both find themselves unable to sleep one night on the Jolly Roger, but unexpectedly find comfort in one another.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first properly shippy story, so I hope it's ok! Don't forget to review :)**

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The Jolly Roger was currently anchored in the middle of the ocean in Neverland. Hook had anchored it so everyone could get some sleep. Despite that however he still found himself awake in the middle of the night, he was becoming restless in his bunk so he decided to go up onto deck to get some fresh air, look up at the stars and have some time to himself which was to be treasured what with the ship being so crowded currently. Sure the Jolly Roger had held more passengers before, but not this many strong personalities, the number of arguments was climbing with each day that passed. None of the people on board had ever spent this much time with each other in such an enclosed space. That's why Hook liked the night, everyone was quiet. He climbed the last steps up to the deck and was surprised to see Regina looking out to sea at the far end of the boat. Hook could only see her silhouette but he could tell it was her almost immediately. He stepped carefully towards her. Regina whipped around startled.

"It's ok dear, only me." Hook whispered gently. Seeing Regina relax he continued. "What are you doing up so late?"

"I couldn't sleep." Regina replied bluntly. She turned back to face the sea, holding on to the side of the ship. Hook joined her, standing next to her.

"Neither could I." Hook looked sideways at the former queen, stunned by her beauty, the way the moonlight caressed her face made her look more beautiful than usual. "We will find him, your majesty."

"How can you possibly know that?" Regina turned to face Hook, a delicate tear falling down her cheek. Hook had to desperately fight the urge not to wipe away the tear with his thumb. He doubted Regina would appreciate the gesture; instead he reached out his hand to hold hers which was still resting on the side of the ship.

"Because I've never known a more determined and terrifying group of people." The of the corners of his mouth rose to make a slight smile, Regina's lips formed a tiny smile too, but Hook could tell she still wasn't convinced. But what more could he say. He was sure they were going to find Henry, having seen all of the group in action there wasn't a lot they couldn't accomplish now that they were all working together. Hook realised his hand was still resting on Regina's and removed it gently.

"Henry is out there somewhere all alone and there's nothing I can do to comfort him. He doesn't even know we're looking for him." More tears were spilling down her cheeks now.

"Of course he knows." Was all Hook could think to say. Regina nodded but continued to cry silently and stare into the sea. Hook didn't have the best comforting skills. He had tried many times already on this voyage to try and talk to Regina, not about Henry, but about what he did to her before they left Storybrooke. He still felt guilty. He hadn't had any idea what Greg and Tamara had wanted Regina for, but had he known, he would never have let her go with them. "Regina, I'm sorry."

Regina looked up from the water and into Hook's eyes. "Sorry for what?" Her voice had a little shake in it.

"For what they did to you." He indicated out towards the ocean. Regina understood who Hook was referring to. She smiled slightly.

"It's not your fault Captain. You didn't flick the switch."

"I didn't stop them." Hook couldn't let himself get away with this. "I left you there to die."

Regina looked at the man in front of her with concern. He had years of guilt bearing down on him. She knew how that felt. Regina reached out a placed her hand on Hook's arm and gently squeezed it. "I left you in the mines to die, with my dear friend, don't you remember?" Hook opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He just looked into Regina's deep dark eyes, puzzled by her forgiveness of his actions. Regina smiled softly; Hook brought his hand up to Regina's face and stroked it with his thumb. Regina's eyes went wide at first in shock and then she relaxed leaning her head into his hand. Hook stepped closer to Regina, their bodies almost touching. Hook's gaze lingered on Regina's lips before he brought his down to meet them.

Regina was taken aback by the soft pirate's lips being pressed against hers, but she didn't draw back, instead she brought her hand up and slid it around Hook's neck and deepened the kiss. Hook moved his hand into Regina's hair and placed his arm and hook on the small of her back, pulling her body into his own. Regina didn't resist his movements; she instead brought her other arm around the captain's neck. When they pulled apart, breathless, Regina looked down, her eyes still closed and a smile spreading over her face. Her stomach had flipped when the captain had kissed her; she hadn't experienced that feeling in so long. Hook too could hardly remember the last time he had felt a connection that strong with someone. Regina looked up still smiling into Hook's eyes, he smiled back.

Hook placed another soft kiss on Regina's lips, he couldn't help himself, she looked even more beautiful when she smiled. Regina felt her chest fill with warmth. She had no idea the captain could be this gentle. Nor had she realised that he looked at her in this way, or that she herself had looked at Hook in a romantic light. He was attractive, of course and had she needed to in the past Regina wouldn't have objected to using his body to manipulate him into doing what she needed. But this was different, she didn't need Hook for anything, she hadn't seen this coming at all, which pleased Regina greatly. She was so used to being in control that having something pleasant happen as a surprise was thrilling. Hook suddenly realised how different Regina looked in this moment, she wasn't so guarded or cold, he could still see some of her walls, it would take a long time to knock all of those down, thought the pirate to himself.

Regina felt a wave of tiredness wash over her. She had been so worried about Henry she hadn't quite realised how tired she was. Hook noticed a slightly glazed expression come over Regina; he stepped back, releasing her from their embrace. Regina snapped back into focus.

"I think it's time I got some sleep." she said softly, a slightly apologetic expression on her face. Hook nodded, seeing for the first time how truly worn out she looked.

"Certainly my queen," He turned and offered her his arm. She linked her arm through his as he led her below deck and into the room where the rest of their shipmates were already sound asleep. Regina wasn't quite sure how they slept so soundly, but then, she realised swiftly, they didn't have anything to feel guilty about. It was her fault Greg had wanted revenge on the town in the first place, that must have been why they had taken Henry, to hurt her. Once they reached Regina's bunk, Hook slid his arm out from Regina's and continued into the next room where his bed lay. Captain's privileges he had stated cheekily when the rest of the group had grumbled about him having the only decent place to sleep. As Regina clamoured into her bunk, trying to get herself comfortable and warm with the tiny blanket she had to cover herself, she couldn't take her mind off of the Captain. For the past few nights all she could think about was Henry, how alone he must be and how she could do nothing to help him. But now all her thoughts were consumed with Hook and his soft lips. She drifted off to sleep at the memory of being held in his arms. She finally had some comfort in her life.

Hook on the other hand wasn't able to sleep for the rest of the night; Regina's presence in his mind was too strong to be tamed. The true beauty in Regina's smile was what kept appearing in his head. Hook hadn't thought it possible to feel this way about anyone anymore. It had been so long since he had actually had deep feelings for a woman. This was more than mere lust, Hook knew what that felt like well enough. It couldn't be love though could it? Not yet surely. In reality he and Regina barely knew each other. Over the next few hours Hook was in constant battle with himself about whether what he felt for Regina was in fact love or not. He decided, upon hearing the rest of his shipmates stir, that he would leave that question undecided and put it to the back of his mind. He also wished he had come to that conclusion three hours previously.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry this took so long to update, I promise the next chapter won't take so long!**

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The next morning Hook was the last person to get out of bed and up onto deck, he scanned the deck for Regina, she was at the other end of the ship having a heated discussion with Rumple. It was usually best to stay out of the way of this kind of conversation, but in light of recent events for some reason Hook thought it might be a good idea to join them.

"You knew about that all along and you never said anything?" Regina practically screamed at Rumple. Emma looked up then, wondering what information the dark one had been concealing, even if it was some magic thing that she didn't understand yet, she realised she might need to know so she began to approach the angry pair too.

"I was merely going to release the information when I saw fit." Rumple seethed, glaring at Hook as he approached them. Regina spotted Hook too and her expression softened, only for a second, before she turned back to Rumple.

"We could have saved days if we had headed for it from the moment we got here."

"Yes, but whilst speeding towards a specific piece of land that may be of no use to us, we may have missed something useful in the meantime."

"THIS IS USEFUL" Regina shouted in Rumple's face, he barely flinched.

"What's useful?" Hook put his hand on Regina's arm, signalling her to back down.

"I know of a village on the coast of one of these islands that might be able to help us locate Henry, but seen as it's been nearly one hundred years since I've been here, I'm guessing it's abandoned by now."

"You're guessing?" Emma snapped from behind Rumple. "How dare you not tell us something this important."

"And we've been heading in the opposite direction to where the village is directed." Regina chipped in.

"Well if I had attempted to direct our Captain here," Rumple said sarcastically "then things would have gotten a bit nasty."

"Not if you had told us what you knew in the first place." Hook stated, raising his voice. How dare this man think he could control everyone, even now, Hook thought he would have learned better, or at least put aside his manipulating ways for this mission. "Where is this village, I know most of the populated areas in Neverland. It should be familiar to me."

"Then why are we heading in the opposite direction?" Emma snarked.

"Because dear, there is more than one town in this land. I was heading in this direction because that's where Neverland's main city is." He turned back to Rumple. "What makes you so sure these people can help us?"

"Because they helped me once before, to find you." Rumple smirked, Hook looked taken aback.

"You found me here? Then why didn't you kill me?" Regina looked at Hook, there was something in his voice that she recognized, it was if he wanted to be killed, Regina recognized the tone from when she herself had been close to death.

"Do you want to know where this village is or not?" Rumple brushed off the question, he didn't know himself why he hadn't been able to kill the pirate, maybe it was seeing that ship again for the first time, the ship where he'd murdered his wife. Besides, living for hundreds of years with absolute heartbreak and the memory of having the one you love die in front of your eyes may just be a better punishment than death. Rumple limped off then, leaving Hook to turn the ship around and Emma to storm off angrily and find her parents.

"Hook, I'm sorry you got dragged into that, I know how much he infuriates you. I just needed to know what he was planning." Hook looked from the horizon to the beautiful woman standing beside him.

"It's quite all right dear, and the crocodile never needs an excuse to hold things over others, he thrives on the power. We're heading for a lead to Henry, that's all that matters." Hook went back to concentrating on turning his ship around. Although he had enough people to help him, he preferred to work alone on his ship so some tasks could prove more difficult than normal. Regina put a hand on his arm lightly then left him to work and cautiously approached Snow, Charming and Emma.

"We're headed in the right direction now." Was all Regina stated. Emma nodded, _but that doesn't explain why you touched his arm back there_, she thought. Now that they had to change course, the group still had a few more days of sailing ahead of them, whereas Hook had hoped they'd reach their original destination within just one day. He didn't enjoy being parted from his ship but he couldn't wait to get some space between him and the rest of his ship mates, all except one of course. He was watching Regina now as she paced the deck. Hook wished he could do something to calm Regina. But he knew the only thing he could do to really help was to get her to her son safely as soon as he could. Which is what he was doing, no thanks to the crocodile.

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After a full day of sailing after the initial argument in the morning, the Jolly Roger had remained a quiet place to be, a thing it was not however was relaxing. The tension from the morning had stayed around the ship for the entire day, weighing down its inhabitants. All Hook had wanted to do for the all day was hold Regina in his arms. He hadn't seen her in hours and now that is was dark he was able to anchor the ship and find her. He stroked the wheel and whispered "thank you" as he stepped down onto the main part of the deck. The Jolly Roger had served him well through yet another day. Hook soon discovered that Emma, Snow and Charming were in the bunk room hastily discussing one matter or other, Hook expected they'd been doing that for some time, but then there was little else to occupy their time. The crocodile was sat alone in the 'mess room' as it was known to Hook, however his ship mates preferred the 'dining room', not that the food ate inside it reflected that title. Hook found Regina curled in a ball at the end of the same room where him and Cora had kept Archie prisoner.

"Tough day." He said more as a statement than a question. Regina jumped and sat up straight at the sound of his voice. However as soon as she realised it was Hook standing in the doorway, she relaxed. "Sorry." he added.

"It's okay," Regina stood up and began to walk towards Hook. "It's been a tough day for me too." She gently leant her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms tightly around her. Regina put her arms around Hook's back, sighing as he lightly stroked her hair. Regina could have stayed quite happily in his arms for hours. But eventually Hook stopped stroking her dark hair and leaned back, as did Regina.

"It should only take us a day or two more to reach this town. I hope it's still populated."

"Why wouldn't it be? I thought no one here could die." Regina said quizzically.

"Ah, no one here can age. But anyone can die. From either natural or unnatural causes."

Regina nodded "So I'll be able to kill those two bastards when we catch up to them then?" Hook looked slightly taken aback at Regina's sudden change of tone, she'd gone from casual questioning to murderous in under a minute. Her eyes had started to burn with rage at the mere mention of Henry's captors. Hook simply nodded in reply and leaned in to lay a soft kiss on Regina's forehead, hoping he could put out the fire burning behind her eyes. Regina closed her eyes which Hook noticed as he pulled away from her. He swiftly leant down and placed a kiss to her lips which Regina deepened almost immediately and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck. She grabbed the back of Hook's head to pull him in closer.

When they drew apart Hook couldn't conceal the smile that dawned his lips, Regina smiled back and leaned into his chest. Hook couldn't explain the effect Regina had on him. In her presence like this, this intimate, he managed to forget all about their current quest and how much stress it was causing him, that's why he said "Do you want to sleep in my room tonight? It's a lot more comfortable than the bunks." Hook regretted the proposal as soon as he'd said it. It had been said in perfect innocence which he had to admit, for him was rare, but he knew Regina wouldn't fall for the swaggering pirate routine. With her he was able to be himself.

Regina pulled out of their embrace to study Hook's face. He didn't seem to have an angle, but like Regina, Hook could be an expert at hiding his true emotions and thoughts.

"I just mean so both of us can get a better night's sleep tonight, I don't want you wandering around the ship on your own again." he said with conviction. Regina could tell the pirate wasn't after anything more than he had stated, she also sensed that Hook was having his own troubles at night, why else would he have been on deck at that hour last night?

"As long as I get some decent sleep." Regina gave in. It was good to know she could be of some comfort to Hook as well. She, today had felt guilty, Hook was doing so much for her and still offering her comfort. Regina was just glad she could give something back to the pirate. "How are we going to do that without all of the others noticing my absence?" Regina queried tilting her head to the side slightly.

"How do you feel about sneaking across the room into mine after everyone's asleep?" Hook raised one of his eyebrows cheekily.

"I feel perfectly fine about that Captain. But I'll have to sneak out just as carefully in the morning. Goodness knows what the two idiots would do with you if they found the 'Evil Queen' in your bed." She smirked, Hook smiled back, he adored the way Regina's eyes lit up when she smiled properly.

"I dread to think what punishment would await me. Perhaps I would be made to walk the plank of my very own ship. Then you'd all be stranded in the middle of the ocean in Neverland."

"Oh you're far too valuable to them to merely throw in the sea. They'll just set their modes to passive aggressive until we've found Henry, then you'll definitely be thrown overboard." Regina laughed loudly, Hook was surprised, he'd never heard Regina laugh before, not like that. He laughed along with her.

"But surely you won't let them drown me?" Hook put on his most innocent face, Regina smiled and then looked to contemplating an answer.

"We'll see." Was all Regina replied. She smirked again and gently placed both of her hands on either side of Hook's face. She pulled him into a soft kiss. "I'd better get to bed now Captain." She said softly, stepping away from Hook and walking out of the room, Hook watched her as she went, taking in her gorgeous figure.

As soon as Regina sensed that all of her ship mates were asleep, she slowly slid out of her bunk and crept across the room to the double doors that lead to the Captain's Quarters. Before she opened the doors, she did a final sweep of the room, she couldn't see very well, there was only a dying candle at the other end of the room to light it, but she couldn't see that anyone in the room was awake. She carefully turned the handle on one of the doors and pushed it open, it squeaked, but not loudly. Hook was still awake, he watched Regina as she tip toed through the door and closed it behind her. She smiled at him as soon as she had done so, walking softly but normally over to him. He shifted over to the far side of the bed and lifted the covers for Regina. She climbed in and snuggled up to him. Hook wrapped both his arms around her as Regina rested her head onto his chest. It was always a comfort to hear someone else's heart beating in their chest. It calmed her, she shut her eyes. Hook began stroking Regina's hair with his good hand, she soon drifted off into a peaceful sleep. Hook took slightly longer to fall asleep, choosing to enjoy the moment instead. But before long his eyelids refused to stay open and he found himself falling into a sleep without the nightmares that usually plagued him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the late update, I've had major writers block recently, I'll try and be faster with the next update, I promise!**

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The following day Regina was gazing out at the horizon, alone with her dark thoughts when she suddenly felt a timid hand on her shoulder, she knew it couldn't be Hook due to the lightness of the touch. She turned to find Snow looking worriedly at her.

"Sorry to bother you, only...I thought you might like someone to talk to." Snow moved to stand beside Regina at the edge of the ship.

"I'm fine, thank you." Regina said, having to control the amount of venom in her voice.

"We'll find him soon, now Gold seems to finally be working with us and not just on his own terms." Snow stated, hope rising in her voice.

"You really think so?" Regina scoffed, Rumple was never to be trusted in Regina's eyes no matter what he appeared to be doing, but she had agreed to be as civil as necessary for now, until they got Henry home.

"You don't?"

"Of course I don't, I wouldn't trust that man with anything, let alone Henry's well being. How do we know why he's really helping us, it'll be for his own gain, it always is. It may be to avenge his precious son's death or it may be something else. Either way Gold's only in it for himself, no one else." Regina said, whilst examining Snow's expression.

"You really think he still only cares about himself?"

"Who else could he possibly be doing this for, he certainly doesn't care about any of us, and he's known Henry properly for all of five minutes. He's up to something."

"You may be right, but what can he do with all of us watching him?" Regina laughed again.

"Are you forgetting who you're talking about?" Snow smiled, blushing.

"Well, I doubt he'd be able to get past you if he threatened Henry." Regina finally looked into Snow's eyes, puzzled. "What you did in the mines, you would do anything to protect him."

"So would you." Regina said a hint of warmth in her voice now. Snow noticed this and smiled slightly. She sometimes craved the same relationship she had shared with Regina all those years ago, when Snow had been just a girl. Although she knew now that Regina had never really been genuine about those moments Snow held so dear. A small part of her still wanted to go back to that, although it seemed an impossible task now. But maybe, one day, they could move forwards instead, Snow thought.

"I'm glad we have Hook to guide us through this land." Snow decided to change the subject. She noticed Regina's eyes brighten slightly at the mention of Hook's name, Emma had mentioned that she suspected there was something between the two of them, but Snow had simply brushed the thought away. But now she realised, there must be. Regina was extremely hard to read, so if her eyes were showing even slight signs of light when Hook was mentioned what was she thinking? The pirate had clearly had quite an impact on Regina. Snow wondered what was in it for Hook. She would have to bring it up with him at some point, she wasn't having Regina get anymore hurt than she was now, and goodness knows what she would do. And they would most likely use they're most helpful team member while they were here in Neverland. Hook was the only person who knew this land well. They would be completely lost without him.

When the ship eventually reached the village, Hook let the anchor down and instructed the group to split into pairs and get lower a rowing boat down into the water. Naturally Snow and Charming made their way over to a boat together, and Regina and Hook were quick to pair up with each other to avoid being stuck in an even more confined space with Rumpelstiltskin. Emma couldn't have been less amused, she was fine working with everyone else on the ship, even Regina, but with Rumple's recent actions, she could barely bear the sight of him. Once all the boats were lowered, the group used the rope ladders on the side of the ship to climb down.

"Ladies first." Hook smirked and helped Regina over the side of the ship and onto the first rung of the ladder. Regina smiled as she descended. Regina, Hook, Snow and Charming were the first to set foot on the beautiful beach which was surrounded by a deep jungle, however along the beach in the distance a cluster of huts could be seen. Emma and Rumple finally pulled their boat up onto the beach, Emma was muttering angrily whilst Rumple sauntered over to the rest of the group rolling his eyes. Everyone simply glared.

"I suppose it's up to me to lead the way." Rumple jeered. And began strolling down the beach. Hook looked ready to take a swing at him, but the feeling of Regina's hand on his arm calmed him considerably. When they approached the village many of the huts were over grown with vines and plants, it didn't seem like anyone had lived there for a very long time.

"How long ago was it that you came here?" Charming addressed Rumple.

"Only fifty years ago." Rumple replied.

"Only fifty years?!" Charming looked ready to burst.

"Well excluding the curse, twenty two years ago."

"But Neverland wasn't affected by the curse." Regina said.

"Well it is fifty then dearie." Regina could feel her anger ready to boil over; she couldn't stand it when he called her that. It made her skin crawl.

Emma shoved through the group. "Can we just find out what this guy has to say?"

"If he's still alive." Hook snapped. Emma turned on him.

"I am here to save my son, and all you've done so far is lead us in the wrong direction and make snarky comments. Not to mention make eyes at Regina. If you're not going to help me get my son back then leave now."

"Your son?" Was all Hook replied. Emma punched him, hard, in the face. Charming grabbed Emma's arm and held her back before she could take another swing. Hook straightened up. Blood trickling down his cheek from a cut which had formed. Regina laid her hand on his shoulder and handed him her handkerchief. Hook looked at her face, so full of concern, it made him smile, _she really does care_, he thought. At this point Charming was giving Emma a telling off, much like she was a child. Regina caught Hook's name and "the only one who can sail." Regina couldn't blame Emma for being impatient, Regina felt the same, but why she didn't take her frustrations out on Rumple she didn't know. Hook was the only one who could sail the ship to Henry and get them all home again. They needed him far more than the arrogant imp. She also had no idea Emma had noticed her and Hook's behaviour, not that she'd gone out of her way to pretend she loathed him. Regina should have seen it coming, but her mind was a bit preoccupied. _Plus what does it matter that they do know?_ Regina thought.

Emma stormed off up the beach once her father had finished talking to her. Snow ran after her, putting her arm around her daughter's shoulders when she caught up to her, Emma shrugged the arm off. If she had turned to see the look of hurt on her Snow's face at that point, she would have hugged her as tight as she could. Snow waited in the middle of the beach until her husband approached her and wrapped her in his strong arms.

Hook noticed Regina watching the exchange and wrapped one of his own arms around her shoulders tightly and pulled her into him. Regina laid her head on his shoulder for only a moment before she realized Rumple was still standing behind them.

"Come on, we can't have Emma scaring any possible life in the town away." She began making her way up the beach, Hook's arm still around her shoulders.

Once the huts came into full view the group lost all hope. The huts were covered and entwined with plants and vines; they crawled out of the roofs and through the windows, the plant life inhabiting the places the humans once did. _Taking back their own home._ Hook thought. Rumple sauntered up at the rear of the group, unfazed.

"This way." He strode through the middle of them all and began leading them deeper into the village. Eventually he came to a stop. The hut in front of him looked slightly less taken over by the jungle, Regina had to admit. And considering it was deeper into the jungle that didn't make much sense. Rumple knocked lightly on the door. There was shuffling from within, suddenly the door whipped open revealing a middle aged man with dark hair and bright green eyes, however everyone else was more drawn to the fact that he was holding two swords in his hands. The man stared at Rumple as if he couldn't believe his eyes and relaxed his stance, setting his swords down beside his door frame.

"Rumpelstiltskin." He smirked. "What brings you back to these parts?" He looked around at the people anxiously assembled behind his old friend. He recognised Hook and his eyes widened. "And why is your one handed friend still alive and here?" He said a sense of annoyance in his tone now. Hook simply glared back at the man, Hook had been pondering over that same question himself.

"We're looking for a boy, my grandson, he was stolen and I know he was brought here. I was hoping you could help." Rumple replied, rather bluntly. Still avoiding the question as to why Hook was still alive if he had managed to find out his location years ago.

"A boy is not a helpful description. Come inside, I'll fix you a drink and we can talk properly." He stepped aside and nodded for Rumple to enter. When Emma attempted to follow he stepped back to block her way. "Sorry dear, I don't let strangers into my home, especially not the ones that choose to travel with The Dark One." He slammed the door in Emma's face. When she turned around to face the others, Hook had never seen her so angry.

"Choose to travel with that hideous man, why the hell would we choose to have anything to do with him?!" Emma stomped off ranting back to the beach. Charming waited a moment and then followed, not wanting to crowd his daughter, but not wanting her to be left alone in this land. Who knows what was lurking in that jungle, or in the sea for that matter. Charming felt sure he'd seen some creatures under the surface on their travels.

Regina had began to pace up and down outside the hut. Hook watched her, concerned, trying to read her thoughts, Hook couldn't decide when she looked more beautiful, when she smiled, or when she was concentrating so hard she forgot everything that was outside of her head. Hook shook his head; this was not the time to be thinking about that. Regina needed him; he approached her slowly, gently stopping her furious pacing. He stroked up her arm and over her shoulder until he reached her chin, which he lifted gently so Regina was able to look into his deep blue, kind eyes. Hook could see the distress that filled Regina's eyes. He leant in slowly and placed a light kiss on Regina's lips, it was soft and sweet and Regina let out a sigh as Hook pulled away. She leaned into his chest, wanting to break down in his arms, which was the only place she felt truly safe. Except she suddenly remembered that Snow was still sitting on a log a few paces away from them. Regina looked up to see her smiling genuinely at the two of them, Regina smiled back, tears forming in her eyes. Snow stood up and made her way back to the beach to join her husband and daughter. She couldn't be happier that Regina had found someone to love again. She was still wary that that person was Hook, but Snow was shocked at the gentle nature he had just shown towards Regina. _Perhaps they're a perfect match._ Snow thought.

Rumple was sat in the dimly lit hut, waiting for his informant to return with their drinks. He was glad the rest of the group hadn't been allowed in; it meant he still held some of the power. Diggory came back into the room holding two glasses of rum. He handed one to Rumple and took a seat opposite him. Rumple took a swig from his glass.

"So what do you so desperately need my help with Rumpelstiltskin?" Diggory queried smugly.

"I need to find my grandson. Two people, a man and a woman, brought him here; we believe they want to give him to Pan."

"I've heard talk that the Lost Ones are getting agitated. It's said that Pan has sensed that the boy he's been searching for is here, finally in Neverland. Could that be your grandson? You are the Dark One."

"And both of his mothers have magic, one of them was born from true love." Rumple continued Diggory's train of thought.

"He must have incredible powers that none of you are aware of yet. Pan has been searching for this boy for hundreds of years. If he gets his hands on your grandson, he won't let him go. You'll never see that boy again." Diggory warned.

"Well then we need to find his captors, now."

"It was rumoured that a portal opened a few days ago. Everyone was so shocked; we believed all the beans to be gone. That was over near Marooners' Rock which is only half a day's sailing from here. They can't have got far without a boat, and they certainly won't have made it to Pan already. Not unless they know Neverland as well as me or your friend the Captain outside." Diggory said.

"They know nothing of this land, they can't know, they're residents of the land without magic."

"Ah, the place where everyone else went when the curse hit. How did you manage to leave Neverland out of that by the way?"

"Time has already stopped here, this land didn't need cursing, it would have made the curse a lot more difficult to perform and a lot less effective had I included Neverland." Rumple explained.

"Well thank you." Diggory rose from his seat and extended a hand to Rumple who took it and shook it firmly.

"Well this has been pleasant, but I need to go." Rumple rose himself.

"That boy, the one you're searching for, he'll be your downfall, you do realise that?"

"I can see the future, so yes that much has become clear to me."

"The why are you here at all? Leave your friends out there to find him themselves." Diggory was puzzled; the Rumpelstiltskin he'd always known would never have put his life at risk for anyone, let alone a child.

"He's family." Was all Rumple said before turning and leaving the hut.


End file.
